1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information reproducing/recording system and information reproducing/recording method. More particularly, it relates to a system and method capable of searching for various information and performing other processes using management information recorded on recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to program information such as music data, recording media such as optical disc and magnetic disc record TOC (Table Of Contents) information as management information for the program information. The TOC information contains, for example, the absolute time for the start position of each piece of music data on the recording medium and the end position of the last piece of music data. The difference between the start position of one piece of music data and the start position of the next piece of music data corresponds to the play-time of one piece of music data.
Conventional information reproducing/recording systems search for various information and perform other processes using such TOC information. For example, in an information reproducing/recording system having a CD reproducing apparatus which reproduces program information recorded on a CD (compact disc), a HD recording/reproducing apparatus which records the program information reproduced onto an HD (hard disc) and reproduces it, a control apparatus which controls the operations of the CD reproducing apparatus and HD recording/reproducing apparatus, etc., the control apparatus compares the TOC information for the program information between the CD and HD to determine whether the program information recorded on the CD has already been recorded on the HD. If it is found that the TOC information matches between the CD and HD, the control apparatus keeps the program information reproduced from the CD from being recorded on the HD, considering that the same program information as that on the CD has already been recorded on the HD.
Also, information databases (e.g., installed on Web servers on the Internet) have been known in which identification information (e.g., titles) for large quantities of program information and TOC information for each piece of the program information are registered being associated with each other. When the program information recorded on the CD is recorded on the HD, the conventional information reproducing/recording system, under the control of the controller, acquires TOC information about the program information, searches the information database for identification information associated with the TOC information, acquires the identification information, and records it by associating it with the program information to be recorded on the HD.
However, since TOC information concerns the absolute time (or play-time) for the start position of each piece of program information, the same TOC information may exist for different program information. Consequently, even if program information contained on the CD has not been actually recorded on the HD, it sometimes happens that program information is not recorded onto the HD, being considered to have already been recorded on the HD. Also, when acquiring identification information based on TOC information, wrong identification information could be attached to program information. This tendency is especially noticeable when a small quantity of program information has been recorded on the CD.